Next Level Formula for Speed

Next Levels Formula for speed.



Maximizing speed potential can make a mediocre player good,
and a good player great. This is one of the most highly sought
after athletic qualities and for good reason. Speed is one of
the most devastating weapons an athlete can posses on the
field, court, or ice. We have had tremendous success developing
speed in our athletes by implementing the following formula.

1. Develop relative body strength to a high level
2. Mastering the basics of proper running mechanics
3. Improving the body’s Rate of Force development
4. Attaining appropriate body composition levels
5. Structure your speed sessions appropriately

Now let’s take a closer look at each variable of our speed
formula.


Develop relative body strength to a high level
Being strong relative to your body weight is the foundation
for almost every athletic quality. This will improve every
aspect of your game, especially your first step and 10-15 yd
acceleration. The more force you are capable of putting into
the ground the faster you are going to move. A good starting
point for lower body relative strength is a squat or dead lift
between 1.5 to 2.0 x body weight for males, and 1.25 to 1.5 x
body weight for females. More often than not, we see a steady
improvement on speed tests as our athletes approach these numbers.

Mastering the basics of proper running mechanics
Weight training alone will not be enough for most athletes. Being
proficient in proper running mechanics will enable the athlete to
apply their strength in the most efficient manner as they put
force into the ground. The more proficient you become the more
your strength transfers to the field. That being said, most
team sport athletes don’t have to be a mirror image of Usain Bolt
to maximize their speed potential. I have never seen Usain change
directions, contact a competitor, or have a stick or ball in his
hand. Put the majority of your focus on mastering the basics and
you will be surprised how far it will take you.

Improving the body’s Rate of Force development
Once a foundation of relative strength and proper running mechanics
has been established, it is important to train the body to wake up
its sprinting muscles by recruiting the appropriate motor units
quickly. The faster you can recruit a group of muscles the faster
you will accelerate, jump, and change directions. This can be
accomplished with a variety of exercises and drills including:
Olympic lifts, box jumps, position specific plyometrics, and
exercises done in the “power range.”

Attaining appropriate body composition levels.
To be blunt, fat people are not fast people. By attaining the
appropriate body fat percentage you won’t waste the force you are
putting into the ground by dragging around any extra baggage.
If you take A 200 lb. athlete at 14% body fat and a 200 lb. athlete
at 9% body fat, who can both squat 2x their body weight, I will bet
on 9% every time. Most male athletes involved in speed and power
sports should be in the single digits regarding body fat percentage
to maximize their speed. Just be sure to attain this through
appropriate nutritional strategies and energy system work. One of
the worst things an athlete can do to improve speed is trying
to drop body fat by doing excessive cardio workouts.

Structure your speed sessions appropriately
One of the most common mistakes athletes make is confusing speed
work with conditioning work. When developing speed you are trying
to teach your body to run at 100% of its capability. This is not
possible if the athlete is not completely recovered between sprints.
At Next Level we generally stick to a 1:12 to 1:30 work to rest ratio
during speed workouts. So if your sprint takes 5 seconds to complete,
be sure to rest 60 to 150 seconds. Keep in mind that even though you
are giving 100% effort you may only be running at 90% of your
capability when not fully recovered. This is not speed training!

Another important consideration in program design is the total
volume of your speed session. At Next Level we use a general
rule of thumb of keeping our total training volume for speed
development under 500 yards for the session. This includes
all drills except the warm up. So, if you performed 10 sets
of 10 yard sprints your training volume would be 100 yards.
Remember, speed work should be about high quality reps,
proper running mechanics, and high speeds. These all break
down quickly when exceeding the 500 yard mark.


Hopefully these tips will help you maximize your speed
development. By implementing the formula above, Next Level
athletes routinely drop .02 seconds off their 40 time in one
off-season. (more for females!) How much better would your
game be if you improved from a 4.8 second 40 to a 4.6?
If you are a local athlete who is interested in participating
in one of our speed development programs, contact us
at 303-237-3390.

Best of luck in your training endeavors.

Next Level Athlete update

It’s time once again to recognize the latest accomplishments
of a few Next Level athletes. Congratulations to the following
individuals. The staff at Next Level has witnessed your hard
work and dedication to excellence. You truly deserve all the
success that has come your way.


Alex Bresler: Alex was the Co-Captain of the 2009-10 Elmira
Women’s Hockey team this year. She played a huge role in
the success of her team as they earned the ECAC West Divisional
Championship and a 3rd place finish in the National Championships.
Alex led her team in goals with 19 on the year while also contributing
8 assists.



Tate Price: Tate has recently earned a spot on the Gatorade sponsored
box-lacrosse team “Megamen.” They will be participating in international
competition this month at the Ales Hrebesky Memorial tournament located
in Prague. This is the most prestigious box-lacrosse event in Europe with
teams from eight different countries participating.



Tae’lor Purdy: Tae’lor was the starting point guard for the Regis
Women’s Basketball team this year, leading them in scoring with
14.7 points per game. This effort breaks the Regis school record
for most points scored in a season by a Freshman. Purdy also was
awarded RMAC freshman of the year and 2nd team All-RMAC East
honors.



Jesse Cohen: On March 13th Jesse won the North American Grapplers
Championships in the blue belt / lightweight division. Cohen secured
an arm bar early in the championship match winning by submission
in the 1st 30 seconds.

Structuring your off-season strength training program for football

Structuring your off-season strength training Program
for football

There are many efficient and successful ways to structure
your off-season training programs. This article is designed to
give you a peak at how we lay things out at the Next Level
Performance training facility. Keep in mind we are aware that
other coaches will implement their strategies differently, and
are not saying that they are wrong. We are simply sharing
what has consistently produced outstanding results with the
athletes who have come through our doors. With that being
said, our average first year, 17 to 21 year old football player
puts on 12-15 lbs. of muscle, decreases their 40 time by .02
seconds, increases their vertical by 3-4”, and dramatically
improves their relative body strength in their first off-season
at our facility.

We basically lay out our training structure based on the amount
of time each client has in their particular off-season. If they
can devote more than 12 weeks of continuous training the
athlete will use an undulating periodization scheme. This is
simply the alternation of volume and intensity from one training
phase to the next. If the athlete has less than 12 weeks to
commit to a training program we tend to use a conjugate
periodization scheme, which enables clients to improve multiple
strength qualities within each training block. Descriptions of each
and how we lay them out are listed below.

Undulating periodization: Generally we alternate higher volume/
moderate load phases and lower volume/ higher load phases
every 3-4 weeks. The benefits are as follows:
* great for single sport athletes with long off-season
* allows for more time to correct structural imbalances
* better long term progress in strength / size development
* decreases chance of overtraining and plateaus


This is how a 15 week off-season might be laid out using an
undulating scheme.
Phase I: structural balance / hypertrophy, 8-10 rep average
Phase II: structural balance/ strength, 5-7 rep average
Phase III: functional hypertrophy, 6-8 rep average
Phase IV: strength/ power, 4-6 rep average
Phase V: maximal strength / power, 1-3 rep average

When using a conjugate system athletes work on multiple
strength qualities at the same time while staying with the
same basic layout for the duration of the off-season. The
benefits to this system are as follows.
* great for athletes with shorter off-seasons
* quick increases in multiple strength qualities
* allows for great variation within training scheme
* most athletes find it mentally stimulating

A sample 8 week conjugate scheme at our facility might be
set up as follows:
Mon: upper body (focus on strength)
Tues: lower body (focus on strength)
Thurs: upper body (focus on power or hypertrophy)
Sat: lower body (focus on power or hypertrophy)

Hopefully this will give you some ideas and options for setting
up your own programs. Keep checking the blog and website
www.nextlevelperformancecenter.com , as we plan to continue
to share tips that have been successful at our facility. If you are a
local athlete interested in joining one of our off-season football
training groups contact us at 303-237-3390.


Best of luck in your training endeavors.